UK basketball

On the eve of another UK basketball postseason former Wildcat great Kyle Macy is our guest in this edition of the WUKY SportsPage. Kyle Macy is a member of the UK Athletics Hall of Fame and a three-time All-American at Kentucky who helped lead the Wildcats to the 1978 NCAA basketball championship. In this conversation with Keith Elkins he talks about tournament time, and the challenges it presents for players and coaches, including this year’s Wildcat team. He also covers the 1978 championship run, the intense fan interest in UK basketball, and his lifelong connection to the game, which began when he accompanied his father, a longtime coach in college and high school, to games and practices. In addition, he provides insights into his NBA experiences, including time as Michael Jordan’s teammate early in Jordan’s career with the Chicago Bulls. His own project, “From the Rafters of Rupp,” in which he interviews some of UK’s greatest stars, gives fans another perspective of UK basketball history.

Jerry Tipton covered University of Kentucky basketball for the Lexington Herald-Leader for 41 seasons before retiring in 2022. He was known for his straightforward questioning of UK coaches, from Joe B. Hall to John Calipari. Tipton was inducted into the U.S, Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame in 2005, the Marshall University Journalism Hall of Fame in 2018, and the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame in 2020. He has recently written a memoir titled Deja Blue: A Sportswriter Reflects on 41 Seasons of Kentucky Basketball, published by Acclaim Press. In this conversation he tells some entertaining stories about some of his interactions with UK fans, talks about his Sunday Herald Leader "notes" column and plugs his upcoming appearance at this year's Kentucky Book Festival Saturday November 2nd at Joseph Beth Booksellers.

It remains to be seen what UK coach Mark Pope learned about his team after Wednesday night's 123-52 pasting of Kentucky Wesleyan. Kentucky had eight players in double figures in the game, led by Jaxson Robinson, who scored 19 points. Otega Oweh had 18 points, while Ansley Almonor had 15.

Jay Shidler was a fan favorite during his basketball career at the University of Kentucky. Known as the Blond Bomber in reference to his blond hair and long-range shooting skills, he was a starter as a freshman in 1976-77, and was a member of the 1978 national championship team. He was a high school All-American in Lawrenceville, Illinois and led his team to a state championship there. He and co-author Paul Corio wrote “Blonde Bomber: A Ride with Shide,” in which he is open about the ups and downs of his basketball career and his life since then.

Kentucky freshman guard Hamidou Diallo has withdrawn from the NBA draft and will return to school to begin playing with the Wildcats.The 6-foot-5 New York…

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Tickets for this year's Big Blue Madness on Oct. 14 will be available next week, and the University of Kentucky has information for those who want to…

Despite their victory over Texas A & M in the SEC Tournament the Kentucky Wildcats only earned a 4 seed in the East region and will play Stony Brook in…